TV 2 Norway and SterGen to Broadcast Live 3D Football to Web and IPTV

TV 2 will also be the first to produce and broadcast a native stereoscopic 3D TV production  in Norway, when Norway’s national football team will play against Cyprus in the UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifier on October 11th.

“The sale of 3D TVs is rising rapidly, and TV 2 already has a huge amount of viewers watching football on our online platform; TV 2 Sumo. By running a game as big as Manchester United – Liverpool in 3D online, a large number of our customers get to enjoy a revolutionary three-dimensional sports experience,” says Eva Iselin Husby, Editorial manager at TV 2 Sumo.

3D Conversion - in realtime
SterGen provides genuine 3D experiences for a range of sport events. A unique and patented technology enables real-time creation of computed stereoscopic 3D from individual 2D cameras or program feeds in realtime.

“With SterGen’s engine, every game that was shot in 2D can be viewed as 3D – giving the viewer a quality, genuine 3D experience. Using smart and smooth transition of the 3D effect between different scenes, the viewing experience is kept as comfortable as possible”, said Ofer Wolf, Chief Executive Officer at SterGen. “Our technology allows the broadcaster to create the right 3D effect to fit the different devices – as the optimal effect to a tablet or a PC screen will differ from the one suitable for large TV screens.”

Using SterGen’s revolutionary approach, broadcasters and viewers can benefit from almost endless amounts of 3D sport content, utilizing 2D games either in real time or as archive material without sacrificing the quality of the 3D experience ­– providing an attractive new business model for 3D TV Broadcasting. TV 2 will route its 2D signal via SterGen’s live 2D to 3D decoder, applying the right 3D effect to the PC and IPTV platfroms. Another Vizrt partner, Vimond Media Solutions, recently announced support for 3D streaming, giving broadcasters the ability to augment their 2D services with 3D content viewable on connected Blu-ray™ consoles, connected TVs, desktop computers, tablets, and other mobile devices. Viewers will be able to watch the game either via a 3D IPTV connected to the web or using a 3D PC screen using the screen manufacturer’s glasses.

Compelling value proposition
Using SterGen’s technology, broadcasters can enjoy maximum flexibility in their 3D strategy. Broadcast to any device at the highest and right quality – as well as production of a game in 3D - can now be done from the comfort of the studio with a fraction of the cost of a 3D production.

“Our motto is; ‘3D Sports Made Easy’, said Dr. Miky Tamir, SterGen’s founder and chairman. “The point is to keep it simple, while enhancing the 3D viewer’s experience. We do so by the use of patent pending algorithms that solves the native 3D’s camera flatness problem in the high cameras, results of a physical limitation of the 3D cameras. The stereo effect generated by SterGen gives the viewer a genuine effect that enhances the 3D experience in those shots that are used during the majority of the broadcast.”